Narcissistic Personality Disorder
They have features of historic and anti-social personality disorders. They have a grandiose sense of self-importance and crave for other’s attention and admiration. They are boastful and pretentious and are easily hurt if others do not pay compliments which they think they should. They exploit others by seeking favours but not returning them.
Symptoms of this disorder include, but are not limited to:
§ Reacts to criticism with anger, shame, or humiliation
§ May take advantage of others to reach his or her own goal
§ Tends to exaggerate their own importance, achievements, and talents
§ Imagines unrealistic fantasies of success, beauty, power, intelligence, or romance
§ Requires constant attention and positive reinforcement from others
§ Easily becomes jealous
§ Lacks empathy and disregards the feelings of others
§ Obsessed with oneself
§ Mainly pursues selfish goals
§ Trouble keeping healthy relationships
§ Is easily hurt and rejected
§ Sets unreal goals
§ Wants "the best" of everything
§ Appears as tough-minded or unemotional
The symptoms of Narcissistic personality disorder can be similar to the traits of individuals with strong self-esteem and confidence, differentiation occurs when the underlying psychological structures of these traits are considered pathological. Narcissists have such an elevated sense of self-worth that they value themselves as inherently better than others. Yet, they have a fragile self-esteem and cannot handle criticism, and will often try to compensate for this inner fragility by belittling or disparaging others in an attempt to validate their own self-worth. It is this sadistic tendency that is characteristic of narcissism as opposed to other psychological conditions affecting level of self-worth.
Some narcissistic traits are common and a normal developmental phase. When these traits are compounded by a failure of the interpersonal environment and continue into adulthood, they may intensify to the point where NPD is diagnosed. Some psychotherapists believe that the etiology of the disorder is, in Freudian terms, the result of fixation to early childhood development.
The cause of this disorder is unknown, according to Groopman and Cooper. However, they list the following factors identified by various researchers as possibilities:
§ An oversensitive temperament at birth is the main symptomatic chronic form
§ Being praised for perceived exceptional looks or abilities by adults
§ Excessive admiration that is never balanced with realistic feedback
§ Excessive praise for good behaviors or excessive criticism for poor behaviors in childhood
§ Overindulgence and overvaluation by parents
§ Severe emotional abuse in childhood
§ Unpredictable or unreliable caregiving from parents
§ Valued by parents as a means to regulate their own self-esteem
Some narcissistic traits are common and a normal developmental phase. When these traits are compounded by a failure of the interpersonal environment and continue into adulthood, they may intensify to the point where NPD is diagnosed. Some psychotherapists believe that the etiology of the disorder is, in Freudian terms, the result of fixation to early childhood development.
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